Gwendoline

Big Sky DVD 2008

R4 DVD

Distributed by Beyond Home Entertainment

Gwendoline also known as Perils of Gwendoline or Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yaks is a truly stupendous cult experience. It was made by Just Jaeckin of Story of O and Emmanuelle fame and based on a original comic book by John Willie which was saturated with Bondage, S & M and all manner of quirky eroticism. However, for some very strange reasons, Jaeckin decided to make Gwendoline a comedy and so while it has all sorts of erotic elements, lots of breast shots and certainly some strange bondage moments, it is more in the spirit of Barbarella or a light sex comedy than his earlier films. It is interesting to note that this was the last film Jaeckin ever made and after you watch it, I think you will realize why. This must have been a fairly expensive film to make with scenes short in Morocco, the Philippines, L.A. and in other locations around the world. It also features very elaborate sets and costumes which would have been costly to create and they certainly look marvellous, but it really didn’t work at the cinema. Many years later it is seen as a cult classic- the dialogue is ridiculous, the acting is uneven, the outfits outrageous and the action adventure meets sex explorer storyline is strange to say the least, yet all these elements work together to make Gwendoline a truly unique cult film experience.

The plot centres on Gwendoline (Tawny Kitaen), she had stowed away in a cargo crate to China as she wants to locate her lost father who has vanished during a search for a rare butterfly in the land of the Yik Yaks. Chinese thieves get to her before her friend and kidnap her. Willard (Brent Huff), however, reluctantly saves her when he goes to collect his pay from a Chinese crime lord and she happens to be tied to a chair. To retrieve his pay, he ends up killing the crime lord and his deputies and hence they must all escape from the jail quick smart. Gwendoline is obviously attracted to Willard, but Willard is far more interesting in smuggling and having a good time but knows that he must hightail it out of town to avoid the authorities. Now, Gwendoline, her friend Beth and Willard are on their way to find her father after Gwendoline offers Willard $2,000 for his assistance. Little does he know the cash has come from smuggled goods she had “borrowed” from him and bartered for cash !

The film moves through different locales with lightning speed, one moment we are in a jungle, then a desert, then a plain. It is much like a strange road trip movie as they encounter illegal traders, tribesman, poison clouds and finally, a lost Amazonian tribe in the land of the Yik Yak. The last section is truly the most bizarre with a kingdom where woman wear outfits which look like bondage and latex suits, a queen who looks like she is wearing drag and prisoners are punished with gigantic sci-fi machines which look like a cross between something from Metropolis and sex toys. In this kingdom the woman must kill any man they have sex with and they fight for the privilege to do so !

There is lots of soft-core footage and titillation but certainly none of the sexuality of Jaeckin’s earlier films. You need to experience Gwendoline for yourself to really appreciate what a truly mad work of cinema it is. It is silly, fun, sometimes sexy, always bizarre and will keep you enthralled and amused throughout, at the end you will wonder how such an insane film ever got made at all !